


love letters

by hyunghoney



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bad Pick-Up Lines, Falling In Love, Fluff, I'm Bad At Tagging, Love Confessions, Love Letters, Multi, OT3, Poetry, Pre-OT3, Secret Admirer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 07:28:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17997518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyunghoney/pseuds/hyunghoney
Summary: So smile, my love, if that’s the last thing you doFor all the Earth and Heaven knows I’m in love with you.- I.Mmy love for you is like diarrhoea, i just can’t hold it in :>From Cupid ♡





	love letters

**Author's Note:**

  * For [heyimcool](https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyimcool/gifts).



> Written for my newest mutual Shasha, who deserves all the joohyukyun fics in the world!

It’s 8am on a Monday and by all accounts, Jooheon should not be feeling as exhilarated as he currently is. But these days, Mondays have a special sort of excitement to them. It definitely has something to do with the cute little pink origami butterflies that keep mysteriously appearing in his locker every Monday. He feels like his face is about to crack from smiling, and his fingers tremble a little from happiness as he reads the note over and over again. 

  
  


_ Love of mine, if I dare _

_ To say a single word in your presence  _

_ And if you care,  _

_ It’d be “smile”, for your smile lessens  _

_ the everyday’s day-to-day dreariness and  _

_ Leaves me wide-eyed for hours.  _

_ Your blessings, mon ange, they never end _

_ Smile, and the bliss is ours.  _

_ Though you sit before me, visceral and real _

_ I still blink and expect to find you gone  _

_ You are good, but you steal  _

_ My breath, my daydreams, the list goes too far on  _

_ So smile, my love, if that’s the last thing you do _

_ For all the Earth and Heaven knows I’m in love with you.  _

 

__ \- I.M _ _

 

  
  


His secret admirer may call himself “I.M”, but Jooheon’s taken to calling him “Butterfly Boy”, because of the shape of the notes. Butterfly Boy places an origami butterfly in his locker every Monday without fail, and doesn’t write anything outside of the (pretty but slightly cheesy) love poems. Jooheon doesn’t know anything about Butterfly Boy, but being the attention-loving person he is, he already has a soft spot for the poet. Jooheon, still feeling fluttery from receiving the note, carefully folds it back into its shape and places it in his bag. 

 

“What are you smiling like an idiot about?” 

 

Jooheon’s pulled out of his soft romantic mood by a palm coming down hard on his butt. Without turning around, he knows who his assailant is – Lee Minhyuk, his best friend in the world. He turns to face him, scowling without any malice. Minhyuk is entirely unaffected and just throws an arm around his shoulder, dragging him away from the locker and completely ignoring his protests.

 

Jooheon makes eye contact with someone as Minhyuk drags him down the hallway to their first class. He looks away immediately. It’s none other than Im Changkyun: the cool and distant new classmate of theirs, who had recently moved back from Boston. Jooheon has been nursing a minor crush on Changkyun ever since he’d first stepped into the school, but their only interactions so far had consisted of awkward eye-contact and the one time Jooheon had stepped on his toe while leaving class. 

 

* * *

 

_ “Fuck!”  _

 

_ Changkyun swore in English, which made it all the more obvious that he was swearing. The teacher ‘tut’s very loudly as a warning. Changkyun looks mildly chastised to humour her, but Jooheon sees him make a face when she turns away. It made him like Changkyun more to know that he could be goofy behind all the nonchalance. The moment would have been nicer if Jooheon wasn’t the person who caused him to swear in the first place.  _

 

_ “I’m so sorry!” Jooheon apologised, face red. Changkyun just shrugged like it was no big deal, although his wincing earlier indicated to Jooheon that it had been painful. Changkyun just continued to put his notes into a folder, then the folder into his bag.  _

 

_ “Hey, by the way, I’m Jooheon,”  _

 

_ Jooheon introduced himself as he always did to new students. He definitely did  _ not _ try extra hard to sound cooler just because he liked Changkyun. Even if he did, it didn’t matter, because Changkyun didn’t even look up to acknowledge his greeting (in hindsight, he probably didn’t hear him). Jooheon watched, thoroughly embarrassed, as Changkyun threw his bag over his shoulder and left just like that.  _

 

* * *

 

After that one incident, they haven’t really had many chances to interact. Jooheon thinks he catches a glimpse of a smile as he turns away from Changkyun, but he can’t be sure. He probably imagined it. He thinks it’s the end of it, but then Minhyuk brings the two of them to a stop. 

 

“Hey, Changkyun.” Minhyuk calls. Changkyun raises his hand in a wave. Jooheon can only watch, trying to stop his mouth from falling open, as they start a conversation like they’ve been friends forever. Changkyun’s eyes flick over to him a few times throughout the conversation, probably wondering why he’s just hovering behind Minhyuk while the two of them talk. All Jooheon can think is: When the hell did these two become friends? 

 

* * *

 

One day, Jooheon gets the crazy idea that it may be Minhyuk sending these poems. A few things point at this possibility: 

 

  1. Minhyuk is very shameless about showing affection to Jooheon, and has stated that he has a crush on him on more than one occasion (though he may be joking) 
  2. Minhyuk is good at art, and could be good at origami 
  3. No one would say anything if Minhyuk is found loitering near Jooheon’s locker in the mornings 



 

Then he looks over at his best friend, doodling a penis on the corner of Jooheon’s worksheet. Can these be the same hands that wrote things like: “ _ For all the Earth and Heaven knows I’m in love with you” _ ? He comes to a conclusion in time with Minhyuk turning the paper over to Jooheon, presenting the perfectly shaded (and objectively, really well drawn) penis: Nevermind!  

 

* * *

 

_ my love for you is like diarrhoea _

 

Jooheon blinks once, then twice. He rubs his eyes. Then he continues to read the note: 

 

_ my love for you is like diarrhoea, i just can’t hold it in :> _

 

What? 

 

Jooheon had already been confused when he’d found a note in his locker on a Tuesday, and even more confused when it hadn’t been in its usual pink butterfly form. He’d supposed a few seconds ago that Butterfly Boy had just been feeling a little lazy. But now, reading the words that are on the thin scrap of torn out note paper, he’s not so sure it’s from Butterfly Boy at all. Unless he’d run out of poetry inspiration? 

 

He flips over the note, and discovers this: 

 

_ From Cupid ♡ _

 

First, his heart skips a beat at the thought that he has not just one but two secret admirers in the school. Then he has to laugh at how different the two are – Butterfly Boy is romantic and poetic, and this new “Cupid” person is clearly a clown. Without his consent, his ego swells magnificently, and he all but skips to his first lesson. 

 

* * *

 

Jooheon thinks there’s something going on between his best friend and his not-so-minor crush. These days, it’s as common to see Minhyuk with Changkyun as it is to see him with Jooheon, and that’s saying something because he’s with Jooheon a lot. Jooheon isn’t exactly jealous, he just feels like there’s some cruel irony in the possibility of them becoming a couple. Honestly, the only issue with Minhyuk spending more and more time with Changkyun is that he’s unwilling to spend  _ less _ time with Jooheon. Which means Jooheon spends a lot of time with Changkyun these days as well. 

 

Changkyun isn’t as cool and collected as Jooheon thought him to be. In fact, now that they’ve been spending time together, Changkyun’s actually as loud and obnoxious (and endearing) as Minhyuk is. Being with the two of them is like being with two over-excited puppies. Jooheon’s not complaining though. Changkyun also seems to bring out a different side of Minhyuk – he seems almost mature at times, taking care of their new friend. Jooheon thinks they’d make an adorable couple, if that’s the direction it’s heading in. 

 

Either way, he’s honestly happy with their new arrangement. Because Changkyun brings something new to their friendship, and he makes Minhyuk happy, and Jooheon can’t really ask for anything more than that. So he accepts their new friend with open arms (and a heart that’s going wild), and hopes everything turns out well. 

  
  


* * *

 

 

Jooheon arrives at school early the next Monday to see a teacher, but he’s also kind of hoping he’ll get some clues as to who Butterfly Boy is. When he arrives at his locker after the quick consultation, he’s a little disappointed to see no one there, and no note yet.  

 

“ _ You’re _ here early!” 

 

Jooheon nearly shrieks in fright when his shoulders are grabbed without warning by Minhyuk’s claw-fingers. Minhyuk just laughs his high-pitched dolphin laugh in response, wraps his arms around Jooheon, and puts his chin on his shoulder. Despite the initial shock, Jooheon finds that he actually likes the gesture, and leans into it. They only break apart when Changkyun arrives a few seconds later. He stalks over with his hands in his pockets and joins their conversation easily. 

 

It’s both easier and harder to have a crush on someone that he’s getting very close to, but Jooheon’s honestly glad they can just be friends like this these days. He’s already learned that Changkyun’s apparent coldness isn’t really that, but his shyness coming off as unfriendly. 

In reality, Changkyun is witty and ridiculous and just easy to talk to, and Jooheon can open up to him just as easily as he can with Minhyuk. 

  
  


* * *

 

 

_ were not socks, but i think we make a great pair  _

 

_ From Cupid ♡ _

 

* * *

 

Jooheon has a vague suspicion that his two best friends are hiding something from him. 

 

Changkyun’s always been quiet, so it’s not super wild that he spends most of his days writing in his notebooks, listening to music, and studying. But when he’s not doing that, he’s whispering with Minhyuk, and it’s not at all like Minhyuk to whisper. More than once, Jooheon has caught them sitting side by side in secluded corners of the school, lips too close for mere friendship. He can’t say he isn’t a little jealous, but that isn’t the problem. He just wishes they wouldn’t hide it – it makes him feel like they’re  _ protecting _ him, somehow. 

 

It’s worse because Jooheon’s realising something else these days – He can see it in Minhyuk’s adorable slow blinks, in his soft smiles whenever he saw either Changkyun or Jooheon, in his excitable nature, and his bright eyes. After basically growing up with Minhyuk, he hadn’t really noticed before just how fond he is of him. But now that he’s realising it, it’s everywhere, and he doesn’t know how he missed it before. 

 

Does the universe really have to make him realise his love for Minhyuk and Changkyun just when he starts to suspect that they’re together? 

  
  


* * *

 

 

_ looking up is second nature, just to see you soar _

_ your eyes gleaming with hope, the warmth of your love _

_ that brings me closer just to feel it more  _

_ you are the sun, you are goodness and you are my utopia  _

_ you know that if you're the sun and doomed to explode  _

_ then i shall be close by too  _

_ and by the way, my dearest, i think i am in love with you. _

 

__ \- I.M _ _

 

 

* * *

 

Jooheon wishes Cupid or Butterfly Boy would just confess to him already. A new romance with either one of his secret admirers will definitely distract him from his growing crush on his two best friends. 

 

These days, Changkyun’s taken to asking him to go out on the weekends. They’ve discovered a mutual love for music and rapping that has brought them even closer together. This additional time together is doing nothing to help Jooheon’s plight. Changkyun is soft and excitable and mature and fun, and he’s really Jooheon’s exact type. Just like Minhyuk is. . 

 

“You okay?” Changkyun asks. They’re sitting in a café that Changkyun insisted on visiting – “You have to try the cakes there!” – and trying to study. Changkyun has his Physics notes in front of him, meticulously hand-written. He’s usually very intense and focused when studying, a fact that both inspires and shames Jooheon. But his eyes are now on Jooheon. He looks concerned. “You seem a little out of it.” 

 

For obvious reasons, Jooheon doesn’t want to tell him the truth – that he’s just going through a minor crisis because of him and Minhyuk. So he simply shrugs and tells Changkyun he’s just a little tired, that’s all. Changkyun definitely doesn’t look convinced, and gives him a judgemental look reminiscent of the scary Changkyun from before they became friends. Jooheon holds that judgemental gaze until it softens, and Changkyun breaks out into laughter. 

 

“Well, if you’re tired, you should rest. I’ll go get us drinks.” 

 

Changkyun doesn’t wait for Jooheon to protest before getting up. Jooheon stares after him, trying to convince himself that he’s not falling for him. 

  
  


* * *

 

 

_ you must be a broom, because you just swept me off my feet _

_ From Cupid ♡ _

  
  
  


* * *

 

Jooheon’s phone is buzzing with texts. He doesn’t bother to check them, too busy grabbing a tissue to blow his nose into. Anyway, he already knows they’re all well wishes from people, all saying different variations of “Get well soon!”.  During the weekend, Jooheon had developed a runny nose and a fever which had progressively gotten worse. With the advice of his doctor, he’s taking two days off from school. 

 

Normally, he’d be pretty happy to miss two whole days of school for any reason. But Mondays and Tuesdays have special meaning to him now, being the days when he gets cute little notes of affection from his secret admirers. He supposes it’d be too conceited to ask either Minhyuk or Changkyun to help him check his locker for any potential notes, so he just decides to wait reluctantly till Wednesday. 

 

The two days pass too quickly for Jooheon’s taste, only slowing down in the hours that Minhyuk and Changkyun dropped by to sit by his bed and spend time with him. For all his reluctance and his denial, Jooheon really can’t fight the growing feelings for the two of them, and can only hope that he gets over it soon. Having a crush, or dare he say falling in love, just makes everything so tense and awkward between the three of them, at least to Jooheon. 

 

A welcome distraction comes on Wednesday in the form of a scrap paper in his locker, accompanied by a little pink butterfly. 

  
  


_ Can I take your temperature? You’re looking hot today ;) _

_ get well soon honeybee _

_ From Nurse Cupid ♡ _

 

_ No poem for today, since you’re not around to read it anyway. _

_ Fevers suck. I hope you feel better soon, Jooheon :) _

__ \- I.M _ _

 

_ P.S. The sweet is for when you’re feeling better. _

  
  


An orange-flavoured sweet is taped to the butterfly’s wing. A little doodle is on the back of Cupid’s note, depicting a sick bee being taken care of by a stick figure. Jooheon nearly loses his mind after reading the notes. It’s actually the first time either Cupid or Butterfly Boy have said anything other than their usual pick-up lines or love poems, and they’re both surprisingly sweet and caring in the face of his fever. He takes them carefully and puts them into his bag. 

 

“You’re finally back!” 

 

These days, Jooheon can’t tell who it is between Changkyun and Minhyuk that is pouncing on him with the full force of their weight. He can usually assume it’s Minhyuk just because he’s more likely to be shameless in public whereas Changkyun occasionally pretends to be cool. This time, though, he can tell from seeing the black nails in front of his face that the gremlin attached to his back is Changkyun. Minhyuk attacks him from the front, immediately going for his dimples. Jooheon pretends to hate it but all three of them know he’s the one enjoying this the most. 

 

He sighs in fake relief when they finally release him from the clutches of their affection. Minhyuk and Changkyun lead him to his first lesson, chatting excitedly about what he missed on his sick days. Against his will, Jooheon’s eyes are drawn immediately to the sight of the two of them holding hands. It looks so natural, so casual – he wants to be a part of that too. He knows he can’t. He sucks it up and follows them, and pretends not to be too happy when Changkyun grabs his hand too. (They end up walking in a three-person chain, causing some annoyance and some traffic blocks along the way.) 

 

Jooheon keeps noticing little things throughout the day – Changkyun doodling in Minhyuk’s special notebook, Minhyuk stealing Changkyun’s snacks, their constant laughter and just everything they do make it so obvious that they’re in love. Jooheon doesn’t know at this point if they are just hiding it, or they are also unaware of their relationship status. Either way, he can feel himself withdraw every time he witnesses such a scene, even despite his efforts to remain casual and in the moment. 

 

Later in the day, when the three of them are sitting at a table in the library, Minhyuk seems to have had enough of Jooheon’s silent brooding. 

 

“Are you sure you’re feeling well enough to be back?” He asks. He’s clearly concerned, biting his lip a little in worry. Jooheon just assures him he’s fine. He hopes his face doesn’t look too sad – what’s he got to be sad for? His best friends are happy together. 

 

Jooheon’s attention is caught a few minutes later by a note being slid over to him by Minhyuk. It’s on a piece of paper torn out from Minhyuk’s notebook, and looks strikingly familiar. 

  
  


_ can I follow you home?  _

_ ‘cos my parents always told me to follow my dreams _

_ From Cupid ♡ _

_ Guess who? ;)))) _

 

Jooheon looks from the paper to Minhyuk and back to the paper. No fucking way. 

 

“Really?”

 

Minhyuk nods. His smile is so bright. Jooheon is so mad. 

 

“All this for a joke?” He says. He can feel himself getting sulky, and he tries to fight it. “What, don’t tell me you sent the poems too?” 

 

Thankfully, Minhyuk clears away the misunderstanding before it can begin. 

 

“No, Jooheon, it wasn’t me trying to play a prank on you–” he stops, considers his words. Jooheon’s already feeling a little better just by seeing the sincere look in his eyes. “I just wanted to make you happy.” 

 

A pause. Jooheon doesn’t know what to say. 

 

“And… I do kind of maybe really have a huge crush on you.” 

 

Jooheon doesn’t have time to fully lose his head before Changkyun drags his chair over to where they’re sitting. 

 

“What’s going on? You two look weird.” 

 

Jooheon’s thankful that Minhyuk can keep it together well enough to tell Changkyun the whole story, because he needs time to freak out. And freak out he does – Cupid is Minhyuk? As predictable as it seems in retrospect, he’d really had no clue when he hadn’t known. And more importantly – Minhyuk has a crush on him? His mind is whirring with thoughts, each more excited than the last. 

 

Changkyun has a strange look on his face while Minhyuk is explaining. Jooheon remembers the times he’s seen them together, recalls Changkyun’s bright smiles around Minhyuk and how close they are – how is he going to take this? But if he’s upset about it, he doesn’t say anything for now. He just looks appropriately shocked and lets Minhyuk keep talking. 

 

Shyly, Jooheon reaches for Minhyuk’s hand. They hold hands quietly as Changkyun takes in what they’re saying. 

 

“By the way, Jooheon, what poems were you talking about?” Minhyuk asks him, when the tale is done. “I didn’t send any.” 

 

“Really?” Jooheon asks, puzzled. “But if you’re not Butterfly Boy, I wonder who it could be.” 

 

Changkyun snorts. “Butterfly Boy?” 

 

“He’s the one that’s been sending me notes since before Minhyuk has. He calls himself ‘I.M’, but I call him Butterfly Boy because of all the origami butterflies he sends me.” 

 

Minhyuk looks exaggeratedly jealous, and jokes that he needs to step up his game to win Jooheon’s heart. Jooheon keeps catching Changkyun looking strangely at the two of them, and feels kind of bad that their sudden confession-moment has left him out of it. He still has a crush on him, after all. 

 

“I guess I’m gonna have to tell Butterfly Boy that you’re taken now,” Minhyuk says with a grin. 

* * *

 

_ I feel compelled to tell you that my name is Im Changkyun.  _

_ And that I have a huge crush on you. _

__ \- I.M _ _

 

  
  


The note containing Changkyun’s confession is folded in its usual pink origami paper, but in the shape of a heart. In completely un-romantic fashion, Changkyun is nowhere in sight when Jooheon reads it. Jooheon is just left to read the note over and over again, and ask himself whether it is possible that Changkyun has been loving him longer than he’s been loving Changkyun. Is it possible? How can it be possible? 

 

“ _ For all the Earth and Heaven knows I’m in love with you _ ” – apparently, it is only Jooheon that had no clue at all, because when he finds Minhyuk a few minutes later and tells him the news, still utterly shocked, Minhyuk just laughs and calls him oblivious. Pouting, Jooheon enlists his help to go look for the third member of their messy little trio. Minhyuk complains but doesn’t hesitate to follow Jooheon. 

 

The pair finally find Changkyun in the cafeteria, writing seriously. 

 

“Hey there, Butterfly Boy.” 

 

When Changkyun looks up, his nervous smile blows Jooheon away. Minhyuk is obviously as charmed by Changkyun as Jooheon is, if his loving gaze is anything to go by. 

 

This is what Jooheon’s been missing, in all his obliviousness: Love, in all their eyes, in their words and notes and in every interaction. He’d been chasing something grander, more romantic. But Minhyuk and Changkyun are right here, ready to love him like he loves them. Jooheon sees this, and finally accepts it. 

 

Weeks later, Changkyun and Minhyuk each open their lockers to find a note: 

  
  


_ “If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart, I’ll stay there forever.” _

__ \- Honey _ _

 

 

Sensibly, there’s no real need to leave notes in each others’ lockers, or sign off with nicknames. But Jooheon feels like they’ve left him out of the fun before, and now it’s his turn to give his boyfriends something to look forward to every week. 

 

_ P.S. Don’t forget our date today ♡ _

**Author's Note:**

> this fic slowly devolved into a mess, especially at the end, but at least the concept is good! 
> 
> twitter @hyunghoney  
> tumblr @sakurachae  
> curiouscat @hyunghonie
> 
> thanks for reading!! please leave comments and kudos <3


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